Mermaid tales from the Depths of Corona
by Goldenabigail105
Summary: Beneath the sea in the oceans surrounding the island of Corona lies another world. A world of merpeople. This is the story of what happens when the two worlds collide by accident when a young girl called Nina is rescued by an unknown being.
1. Chapter 1

The small island of Corona wasn't just known for the lost princess. It held many other secrets besides glowing hair. Yet something else stayed hidden in Corona, just beyond the horizon in the fathoms below…

A young girl named Nina lived along the shoreline of the small island. She was seventeen years of age with golden tinted skin and wavy deep brown hair that flowed in the wind behind her. Small sun kissed freckles laid around her petite nose.

Born into an unfortunate family, she lived with very little. Yet you could see the fire and spark she still had in her soul every time she looked out onto the surrounding ocean. The island gained most of its economic resources from fishing, which is why Nina's father and brother were fishermen.

Naturally with the low status of her family, Nina was an outcast among the village folk. She didn't have many friends besides her family and the occasional bird that followed her around for food. There was one in particular that liked her. Nina had named it Pike for the way it would squawk at her and walked unusually.

"Pike stop it!" Nina joked as the bird stood on her head and started to peck her hair. She sat along the shoreline watching the small waves crash against the land.

"SQUAWKKK" It answered her as if in pain, which it wasn't.

"Talking to birds again Nina? Just as I thought you couldn't get any weirder." It was Salem. The kid next door to her family's run down house. He had tormented her ever since they were children. Although it seemed impossible, Nina remembered a time when he wasn't a cruel human being.

"No, just trying to enjoy the quiet atmosphere of my home." Nina replied calmly. She had to keep her cool. She couldn't show him she was being intimidated.

Salem scoffed at her remark "Right and I'm just here to talk to you. How about the actual truth?" Salem turned around "Riley! Hedley! Come on over." his too sidekicks soon joined in the harassment.

"Salem is this necessary. Wow way to show your male dominance. By bringing two other guys over by a single command." Nina sassed looking up at him.

"Oh Nina," Salem crouched down to whisper in her ear. "You know, now that you've grown out of your old girlish attitude and body you should fix yourself up and let me take you out." Salem had whispered just loud enough for her to hear what he said but for Riley and Hedley to think he said some witty rude comment to her. Completely confused and conflicted Nina stared back to at him.

"I'd rather stay here with my bird then go out with you. He's better company than you could ever be." She yelled loud enough for his henchmen to hear.

"Ohhh," a quiet gasp was heard from Salem's friends.

"Riley, I have an idea." Salem said glaring down at her. She rolled her eyes, stood up, and began to walk away from them.

"If you need me I'll be back at my house!" She shouted as she walked on. Salem and his henchmen were talking together and began to walk after her. "Back at my wonderful house all by myself….WOAH! PUT ME DOWN! SALEM!" Nina was lifted up by Riley and Hedley and was being taken somewhere while Salem walked behind them with an evil grin on his face.

"Come on Nina, I just want to take a little swim with you?" Salem chuckled to himself a bit. He knew that Nina couldn't swim and didn't know how.

"You wouldn't dare." She glared at him as best she could while being carried.

"Try me." He looked back with just as much hate. Yet now she knew he had a secret he couldn't keep forever. Salem liked her. He should've thought twice before the years of traumatizing events he inflicted on her.

"I SAID PUT ME DOWN" Nina screamed at the top of her lungs as they all approached the nearest dock. It was a bit hidden from the others as it's purpose was for personal sailing.

"Oh come on I'm sure you can swim. It's not that hard just swing your arms around and kick your feet." Hedley told her.

"You're such the teacher" She mocked him.

"I'll give you a chance to think twice on my offer?" Salem said. Nina was waiting and pondering the idea of her going on a date with him. "Too late." Salem then signaled for them to do away with her.

"No!" She shouted only for the water to soon cut off her voice. She began drowning.

Her body began to go into shock as her kicking and struggling left her no result. She spotted Salem walk off looking down at her. Nina's head began falling deeper and deeper under the surface yet she still moved frantically to get air. Her muscles were beginning to get tired and helpless. Slowly she sank and watched the surface above her get farther and farther away. Accepting her fate Nina closed her eyes and let the breath from her lungs escape one last time.

It was hard to remember what happened next but a massive force had hit her body and began pushing her upward at an impressive fast rate. Large long arms were wrapped around her waist pulling her upward. Suddenly she had hit the surface again and was laid down on the ground. The bright setting sun was being blocked out from a silhouette with long shaggy hair. Nina could tell it was definitely a man by the build of his face but couldn't make out many facial details as she came back from life.

"Riley?" She asked the figure thinking it was him because of the hair. "Is that you?"

"Who?" He asked dumbfounded.

"Yes who?" She repeated stumbling for words. "I mean, who are you?"

"I'm a you, yes," He answered cleverly. "I'm actually a nobody you need to know of, you." He chuckled to mess with her.

"I, what?" She tried to comprehend. "Can I just say thank you?"

"You're welcome." He seemed proud. "Was it Nina?"

"How do you know my name?" She seemed shocked. Starting to sit up, she could make out small details. His eyes were an odd color. Very unworldly. As was his hair. "How did you save me" Placing a hand on her throbbing head.

"No, no, you should lay back down and I should get going." he started to panic turning away. He pushed her back down but before her head could touch the ground she reached up and grabbed something around his neck.

"No wait!" Nina pulled back on whatever was on her neck. Yet no one was there and a large splash was heard. Exhausted and tired she lay back down and became unconscious.

 **X X X**

"SQUAWKK" Pike pecked at her head as she began to wake up.

"Pike?" Nina awaoke. "Thank goodness." She sat up to look at her surroundings. There were no footprints around her, no boot tracks from who over rescued her, no evidence at all. She opened her palm to look what she had stolen from her rescuer. A glowing necklace. It was a black cord with a raindrop shaped stone that gave off a luminescent blue glow.

"Don't worry Pike. He'll come back. I know he will. I have something of his now" She smiled before pulling herself back together and finally walking home.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"Oh my lord Nina! Where have you been! It's about dusk and you're just now getting home?!" Nina's mother greeted her at the door with hugs and worried faces. "Thank goodness you're home now. Safe and sound. Wait, Why is your hair wet?"

"It's nothing Mom, I'm perfectly fine." Giving her a reassuring smile, Nina pushed her away to go change.

"Were you swimming?! We both know how you are in water. Did someone push you in? Was it Salem?" Her worried mother kept asking questions going on and on.

"Mom, it's ok. Don't go growing anymore grey hair over me ok?" She joked as she went back into her room to change. "Hey is Dad and Clyde coming home tonight?" She asked from her room. The house was small so almost everything you said could be heard from any room.

"Not sure. I believe it was predicted they'd come home tonight but with that nasty rain storm yesterday, I can't be too sure. " Her mother answered. "Hey! Oyster soup tonight! Are you going to come help me out?"

"Yeah! Coming right out." Nina slipped on shirt that she had grown out of a long time ago because of it's small size and it's childish floral print with her worn out jeans.

"What's that around your neck?" Her mother immediately noticed the necklace Nina had slipped on that she stole from her rescuer.

"Oh, just uh, something I found washed up on the shore. Silly old thing isn't it?" Nina responded.

"Yes, looks very expensive though. I'm sure someone might miss it." Her Mother responded while stirring the boiling smelly broth.

"Oh, they probably do." Nina whispered under her breath. "Here can I do the laundry or should I make salad to go with?"

"Salad. I did the laundry while you were out." Her mother responded.

It was soon that they two of them were patiently waiting by the front door for their other family members to return. Nina's father and older brother were very busy fishermen or sailors to the surrounding seas. They would go out for days at a time while the two of them kept the house down and managed their fish and profits at the local market each day.

"Are they coming?" Nina asked impatiently while she played with her new necklace while laying on the ground.

"I'm not sure honey, I'll wait here and will wake you if they arrive." She sighed. Nina knew her mother was a very worn out woman. Constantly full of worry. I mean you probably would be to if your husband was constantly away from you on the unforgiving, unpredictable waters of the ocean. Not only her husband though but her firstborn as well. Dark bags hung under her mother's once beautiful eyes and grey strands streaked her flowing hair.

"Ok, Be sure to get some sleep yourself." She responded before going off to her own room and climbing into bed. "Tomorrow is another day. They'll come home." Nina sighed gripping the blue glowing stone as she fell asleep.

A small trickle of water was leaking from the roof again Nina thought as she awoke to droplets of water on her face. A glance outside told her it had started to rain again. Tired of this always happening, she went to the kitchen to get something to cover it up, or a bowl to put below it. She spotted her mother had fallen asleep on their recliner chair. Nina took the time to cover her up with a tattered blanket. It wasn't much but it was something.

She went back to her room with a steel bowl to notice there wasn't a wet spot on her bed nor any signs of a leak. Nina simply placed the bowl by her bed and climbed back into bed. Yet there it was again! Drip, Drip, on her face. She turned over and looked up and stopped a small grey rain cloud above her head. Suddenly the small droplets of water turned into a steady stream of rain.

"What?" She said alarmed. A crack of lightning shook her house and made her jump before the rain cloudy REALLY began to rain on her. She raced out of her room in order to avoid the rain cloud but it followed her around. She finally stepped outside and almost immediately as she did step outside, the rain began to clear up.

Curiously she looked up at the sky and noticed the clouds beginning to roll away. Thinking she was free, Nina stepped back inside and the rain began again, louder and stronger. It seemed that the weather was trying to keep her from sleeping! So, she stepped back outside and yet again it cleared up.

"NINA!" A faint voice could be heard from the shoreline a ways away. Fog began to flood her vision.

"Who is it?" She began to walk towards the voice.

"Someone you don't need to know about." Immediately she recognized who the voice was. It was the man who saved her!" "Quickly! Over here!" It seemed that more fog began to flow in by the second. As she got closer she could smell the salty air and knew she was approaching the sea.

"Are you going to tell me who you are?" She asked. Remembering the necklace she stole, Nina wrapped her hands around it to protect it. He couldn't know that she was wearing it.

"Sure." He said impatiently. "But first I REALLY need my necklace back. Like badly." He seemed on edge and almost in a rush.

"No, first I want to know who you are." Nina was smarter than that. A cold splash of water suddenly hit her bare feet making her gasp.

"Do you want to know who I am or do you want me to save you again?" He asked. He was obviously very close by. Nina, still blinded by all the fog squinted into her surroundings trying to spot the figure of a man.

"I want this fog to go away." She mumbled.

"Fine." She heard someone snap their fingers and slowly but surely the fog emerged away. "Now place the necklace in the water and go on your away" He demanded.

"I never got to know who you are!" She sassed looking around for someone. She could clearly hear his voice very close by but couldn't see anyone!

"Ahem." He cleared his throat. "Down." Looking at her feet, Nina spotted the torso of her rescuer without a shirt on swimming in the middle of the night! His eyes were so hypnotising. They were a lilac purple color, unlike she had ever seen before. Something you could stare at all day and wonder what this person did to be so blessed with beautiful eyes like these. His curly tufts of hair were a white color. It looked to be tinted yellow like sea foam.

"What are you doing swimming in this weather!" She asked.

"I could ask you the same thing ya know?" He smirked. "Ok but come on. You know who I am now so will you give me my necklace back?" He began to be demanding.

"If you want it come out and get it." She turned her back to him.

"No. It's my necklace!" He began to shout. As he did rain trickled above her. "Hurry and give it to me before the rain starts up again so you can get home without being caught."

"Fine." She pulled it off her neck and placed it in the waves of the water. A small 'yes' was heard from he as he swam closer to recive it. As Nina began to walk away she looked back to see a large tail began to lift out of the water by him. "Woah! Look out!" She shouted. Thinking there was a whale behind him but she got to thinking and thought, whales don't come so close to land.

"What the," He looked at her shocked. He thought she had left already. Wrapping his hands around the glowing blue necklace the mysterious man turned away from her.

"GO HOME NINA!" He shouted as fog quickly wrapped around herself. Nina went into a coughing fit because of the dramatic change in climate.

"No!" She screamed. A large splash was heard, just like the one before he disappeared the first time. Not thinking straight Nina let the curiosity get the best of her. She ran straight into the ocean reaching and grasping for some remains of him to prove he wasn't some silly hallucinogen. She felt something familiar.

It was slimy and scaly just like her father's fish he caught that she would butcher and sell. She held her breath but soon felt her lungs closing up on her again like the time before when he saved her. She tried to grab this tail but it had slipped right form under her fingers the minute she touched it. Nina gasped for air but all she got was water. How could she have been so stupid. She knew she can't swim.

"Really?" The man's voice could be heard from underwater clean and clear. With her eyes open she saw his torso and following lower, a magnificent tail. Just like a fish! "Come on, let's get you back up there." And with that he lifted her up to the surface. Once Nina was above water she took a large inhale of air. It took her a couple of seconds before she could retain her normal breathing pattern.

"You're a-"

"Sh." He hushed her. "Can I explain tomorrow?" He asked quietly to her. Nina had swam a bit off shore to catch him so he just held her there out in the open waters wading up and down lifted by the power of his tail.

"Yeah, yeah, sure, sure" She tried to say calmly looking down at fins keeping her and himself afloat.

"There's a small tide pool just east of your house. It's a bit hidden but I'm sure you'll find it. There's bit of a worn path. I suppose you're not going to be the only human visting us now." It was something about his purple eyes and calming cool breath on her neck that made Nina seem so safe and relaxed.

"Ok." She hadn't notice he swam her back to the tide where she could touch the bottom of the ground. "Can I have a name before I go!" She asked as she got out of the water and stood up.

"Delphin." He stated. It looked like he was trying to smile a little bit. A corky grin lay across his face as he swam away into the waters or Corona.


End file.
